The first league clash between Ebbsfleet United and Bromley since March 2015 is the festive derby game this Boxing Day, with Fleet unbeaten in four games. Daryl McMahon’s side go into this all-Kent clash just three points and two places behind Bromley with a game in hand and would leapfrog Neil Smith’s team on goal difference with a win today.
A point at Fylde that could easily have been three was a decent start to the festive period for the Fleet, but Bromley will be equally buoyed by their identical result at home to league leaders Macclesfield Town.
“Boxing Day is always a great football afternoon straight after all the Christmas Day festivities,” McMahon told FleetOnline. “Hopefully we’ll fill the ground a little more, it’ll be exciting and noisy. We got a point and a decent performance on Saturday to bring us back home and we’ve been excellent at the Kuflink Stadium recently, so it’s a platform for the players to go and perform in front of a boisterous derby crowd.”
Bromley have recruited right-back Luke Woolfenden on youth loan from Ipswich Town and he made his debut on Saturday, while they are likely to be without former Tranmere man Adam Mekki and one-time Millwall FA Cup finalist Alan Dunne, with illness and injury respectively.
Fleet will be wary of winger Luke Wanadio who this time last year contributed to Dartford’s 2-1 Boxing Day victory over us, while strikers Louis Dennis and Brett Williams have 15 goals between them. In defence, full-back Tyrone Sterling will come up against Sam Magri, the pair having been key members of Dover’s back line for the previous two season, while they have also recently recruited former Premier League star with Birmingham City and Wolves, Roger Johnson.
The two clubs met in the Kent Senior Cup this season but with no more than two or three players from that game likely to feature this afternoon, Bromley’s 1-0 win in that will have little bearing on the outcome of this one.
Segregation is in operation for this afternoon’s match and Bromley supporters should enter via the away turnstiles to the left of the Main Stand entrance. Car parking is available at Ebbsfleet International Station Car Park C for £3 and it is advisable to leave your car there as wardens will ticket cars parked along Thames Way by the roundabout before the entrance to the stadium. Please show consideration to our local residents by parking responsibly, preferably using the station’s parking facilities.
